(a) Gasoline.

(1) Gasoline meeting the following specifications, or substantially equivalent specifications approved by the Administrator, must be used for exhaust and evaporative emission testing:

Table 1 of §86.513—Gasoline Test Fuel Specifications

Open Table
Item Value Procedure1
Distillation Range:
1. Initial boiling point, °C 23.9-35.02 ASTM D86
2. 10% point, °C 48.9-57.2
3. 50% point, °C 93.3-110.0
4. 90% point, °C 148.9-162.8
5. End point, °C 212.8 maximum
Hydrocarbon composition:
1. Olefins, volume % 10 maximum ASTM D1319
2. Aromatics, volume % 35 maximum
3. Saturates Remainder
Lead (organic), g/liter 0.013 maximum ASTM D3237
Phosphorous, g/liter 0.0013 maximum ASTM D3231
Sulfur, weight % 0.008 maximum ASTM D2622
Dry Vapor Pressure Equivalent (DVPE), kPa 55.2 to 63.43 ASTM D5191

1ASTM procedures are incorporated by reference in §86.1.

2For testing at altitudes above 1,219 m, the specified initial boiling point range is (23.9 to 40.6) °C.

3For testing at altitudes above 1,219 m, the specified volatility range is 52 to 55 kPa. Calculate dry vapor pressure equivalent, DVPE, based on the measured total vapor pressure, pT, using the following equation: DVPE (kPa) = 0.956 · pT−2.39 (or DVPE (psi) = 0.956 · pT−0.347). DVPE is intended to be equivalent to Reid Vapor Pressure using a different test method.

(2) The following specifications apply for fuels used during service accumulation for certification:

(i) Unleaded gasoline and engine lubricants representative of commercial fuels and engine lubricants which will be generally available through retail outlets shall be used in service accumulation.

(ii) The octane rating of the gasoline used shall be no higher than 4.0 Research octane numbers above the minimum recommended by the manufacturer.

(iii) The Reid Vapor Pressure of the gasoline used shall be characteristic of commercial gasoline fuel during the season in which the service accumulation takes place.

(b) Methanol fuel.

(1) Methanol fuel used for exhaust and evaporative emission testing and in service accumulation of methanol-fueled motorcycles shall be representative of commercially available methanol fuel and shall consist of at least 50 percent methanol by volume.

(2) Manufacturers shall recommend the methanol fuel to be used for testing and service accumulation in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(3) The Administrator shall determine the methanol fuel to be used for testing and service accumulation.

(4) Other methanol fuels may be used for testing and service accumulation provided:

(i) They are commercially available; and

(ii) Information, acceptable to the Administrator, is provided to show that only the designated fuel would be used in customer service; and

(iii) Use of a fuel listed under paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section would have a detrimental effect on emissions or durability; and

(iv) Written approval from the Administrator of the fuel specifications must be provided prior to the start of testing.

(c) Mixtures of petroleum and methanol fuels for flexible fuel motorcycles.

(1) Mixtures of petroleum and methanol fuels used for exhaust and evaporative emission testing and service accumulation for flexible fuel motorcycles shall consist of the petroleum fuel listed in paragraph (a) of this section and the methanol fuel listed in paragraph (b), and shall be within the range of fuel mixtures for which the vehicle was designed, as reported in accordance with §86.90-21. The Administrator may use any fuel or fuel mixture within this range for testing.

(2) The fuel mixtures used by the manufacturers shall be sufficient to demonstrate compliance over the full design range, and shall include:

(i) For emission testing,

(A) The petroleum fuel specified in paragraph (a) or (b),

(B) A methanol fuel representative of the methanol fuel expected to the found in use, as specified in paragraph (b),

(ii) For service accumulation, an alternating combination of the fuels specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) will be used to demonstrate the durability of the emission control systems based on good engineering judgement. The combination shall be selected such that the cumulative volumes of both the methanol fuel and the petroleum fuel used shall be at least twenty-five percent of the total fuel volume. The fuels shall be alternated at mileage intervals not to exceed 1,000 kilometers.

(3) The specification range of the fuels to be used under paragraph (c) of this section shall be reported in accordance with §86.094-21.

(d) Natural gas fuel.

(1) Natural gas meeting the following specifications, or substantially equivalent specifications approved by the Administrator, must be used for exhaust and evaporative emission testing:

Table 2 of §86.513—Natural Gas Test Fuel Specifications

Open Table
Item Value1
Methane, CH4 Minimum, 89.0 mole percent.
Ethane, C2H6 Maximum, 4.5 mole percent.
C3 and higher Maximum, 2.3 mole percent.
C6 and higher Maximum, 0.2 mole percent.
Oxygen Maximum, 0.6 mole percent.
Inert gases (sum of CO2 and N2) Maximum, 4.0 mole percent.

1All parameters are based on the reference procedures in ASTM D1945 (incorporated by reference in §86.1).

(2) The natural gas at ambient conditions must have a distinctive odor potent enough for its presence to be detected down to a concentration in air of not over one-fifth of the lower limit of flammability.

(3) Natural gas fuel and engine lubricants representative of commercial fuels and engine lubricants generally available through retail outlets shall be used in service accumulation.

(4) A natural gas fuel meeting different specifications may be used for testing and service accumulation if all the following conditions are met:

(i) The alternate test fuel is commercially available.

(ii) Information, acceptable to the Administrator, is provided to show that only the designated fuel will be used in customer service.

(iii) The Administrator must provide advance written approval for the alternate test fuel.

(e) Liquefied petroleum gas-fuel.

(1) Liquefied petroleum gas-fuel used for exhaust and evaporative emission testing and in service accumulation of liquefied petroleum gas-fueled motorcycles shall be commercially available liquefied petroleum gas-fuel.

(2) Manufacturers shall recommend the liquefied petroleum gas-fuel to be used for testing and service accumulation in accordance with paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

(3) The Administrator shall determine the liquefied petroleum gas-fuel to be used for testing and service accumulation.

(4) Other liquefied petroleum gas-fuels may be used for testing and service accumulation provided:

(i) They are commercially available;

(ii) Information, acceptable to the Administrator, is provided to show that only the designated fuel would be used in customer service; and

(iii) Written approval from the Administrator of the fuel specifications must be provided prior to the start of testing.

(f) Lubricants.

(1) If the manufacturer specifies several lubricants to be used by the ultimate purchaser, the Administrator will select one to be used during service accumulation.

(2) The same lubricant(s) shall be used for both service accumulation and emission testing.

(g) The specification range of the fuels and of the engine lubricants to be used under paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall be reported in accordance with §86.416.

(h) Written approval from the Administrator of the fuel and lubricant specifications must be provided prior to the start of testing.

[59 FR 48512, Sept. 21, 1994, as amended at 60 FR 34354, June 30, 1995. Redesignated and amended at 79 FR 23699, Apr. 28, 2014; 80 FR 9103, Feb. 19, 2015]


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